Computational design of an improved photoswitchable psychedelic based on light absorption, membrane permeation and protein binding.

Phys Chem Chem Phys

Department of Chemistry, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Calle Francisco Tomás y Valiente, 7, 28049 Madrid, Spain.

Published: August 2025


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Article Abstract

Psychedelic compounds can induce rapid-acting and long-lasting antidepressant benefits. Understanding the role of their hallucinatory effects is crucial for shaping the future trajectory of antidepressant drug development. Photoswitchable compounds targeting the 5-HTR offer precise spatio-temporal control over the activation of different downstream pathways. In this work, we computationally discovered PQ-azo-,-DMT (34), a photoswitch with improved features compared to the previously synthesized azo-,-DMT (1). The new compound shows tight binding to the 5-HTR, retaining all important interactions of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), exhibits positive membrane permeability, and has a strong red-shifted absorption that would allow photocontrol in the visible spectrum.

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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12396349PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/d5cp01252jDOI Listing

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